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‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air’s James Avery Dies at 68

James LaRue Avery (November 27, 1945 – December 31, 2013) was an
American actor, best known for his portrayal of the patriarch and
attorney (later judge) Philip Banks, Will Smith's character's uncle, in the TV sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This character was ranked #34 in TV Guide's "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time." He also provided the voice of Shredder in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series, as well as War Machine in the animated series Iron Man and Junkyard Dog in Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling. He also played Michael Kelso's commanding officer at the police academy late in the series run of That '70s Show.

According to TMZ,
the actor, known for portraying Uncle Phil to Will Smith’s character on
the ‘90s hit comedy and father to Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton), Karyn
Parsons (Hilary) and Tatyana Ali (Ashley), checked into a Los Angeles
hospital for open heart surgery. Reportedly, Avery’s status worsened
after the surgery, and he died from complications last night on New
Year’s Eve.

Fans first heard of the news this morning after Ribeiro tweeted
about his TV father’s passing, “I'm deeply saddened to say that James
Avery has passed away. He was a second father to me. I will miss him
greatly.”

Ribeiro also continued to share his thoughts via Facebook,
“The world has lost a truly special man. I am very saddened to say that
James Avery has passed. Even though he played my father on TV, he was a
wonderful father figure to me in life. He will be deeply missed.”

In addition to his portrayal of Philip Banks, who was a
strict, loving and caring father to his children and Will, Avery’s more
recent roles consisted of Sam on ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ Fred Billings on
‘Harry’s Law,’ and he also had a recurring role as Dr. Crippen on TNT’s
‘The Closer.’